Survivors
by Darkgenius3
Summary: Modern AU in which Kaz loses his family to a drunk driving millionaire- Pekka Rollins. Kaz swears revenge. Adventures of the six. Please review! Kanej, Wesper, Mattina. Rated teen because parts could be kinda scary for younger kids.
1. Prologue

**Okay, I was working on a different fic, and this just came to me. Please review, tell me if I should continue or not. Disclaimer- I own nothing in the world. Geez, these disclaimers are depressing.**

"How are you doing that?" Kaz looked up from shuffling cards to his older brother. He shrugged. Jordie and Kaz were sitting in the back of their family's car, their parents sitting in the front, their father driving.

"I don't know."

"It's like magic." Jordie said, eyes wide. "Can I try?"

"Sure." Kaz said. He handed the deck to Jordie. They were on a back road, heading out of Amsterdam.

"What are you boys up to?" Their mother asked, turning to look at them. She reached out, squeezing his hand. Kaz would always remember her smile, right before the world was turned on its head.

Their father swore, and their mom had time to turn around again before a large black pickup truck smashed into their car. It obliterated the driver and passenger seat, almost driving on top of the little car.

Kaz opened his eyes, a searing pain in his leg, throat, and hands. He looked down, seeing that his hands were covered in blood, gushing from several assorted cuts.

He looked to where Jordie had been sitting, and instantly looked away and began throwing up, a large amount of blood mixed in with his vomit. Jordie was very clearly dead. That image, along with the image of his mothers smile, would haunt him for as long as he lived.

He passed out, not hearing the sirens that came minutes later.

"What's wrong with him?" Kaz heard beeping, a women's voice, sirens.

Another woman. "His leg's shattered, it's going to need surgery. His throat's been cut, by some miracle missing his jugular and slicing into his vocal cords. His hands are shredded."

"Get him in, we need to get him to the hospital. The parents and the other boy?"

"All dead. The parents were killed on impact. Skulls were crushed. The other kid died probably just after. Massive internal bleeding. Not a pretty sight." Kaz tried to talk, only a faint rasping sound coming out.

"He's still conscious. Good one, Janet." The woman's voice grew soft. "It's okay, sweetheart. Just relax. Sedate him, will you?"

Kaz felt the prick of a needle in his arm. Then everything dissolved into black.


	2. Life Sentence

Kaz woke up in the dark, smelling antiseptic and blood. He tried to sit up, realizing he had an IV stuck into his arm. As he woke up more, he became aware of the fact that his hands were heavily bandaged. He tried to call out, but all he could do was make a kind of rasping noise in the back of his throat. There was a searing pain in his leg, but it seemed almost numbed slightly. All he could taste when he swallowed was blood. Like a swift punch to the jaw, he remembered the car accident, his mothers scream, Jordie's body. He curled up on his side, sobbing silently. _Please. Please._ He didn't remember falling asleep.

When he woke up, the lights were on. Kaz was in a small room, with a chair in the corner, next to his bed. a table was opposite him. A young woman in a white coat with curly brown hair and soft blue eyes opened the door, striding in, reading something on a clipboard. She looked up, and her eyes widened in surprise. She placed the clipboard on the table and hurried over. "Kaz, right?" he tried to ask her where he was, but all that came out was a croak. He nodded.

"The reason you can't talk is because your vocal cords were damaged in the accident. It will heal, but your voice is going to sound strange." She looked at him sadly. "Do you remember what happened?" That made him remember it all over again, thescream of tortured metal, pain, Jordie. He almost passed out. She held him up. "Evidently you do. Okay. My name is Dr. Linsay. You're at a hospital in Amsterdam." She took a deep breath. "You were brought here three days ago, from the car accident. Your brother, mother and father were all killed. You survived."

He wanted to ask what had happened to him, but couldn't get the words out. He gestured to his leg. The pain was still there, and if anything, worse.

"Your leg was shattered. You had surgery three days ago to put it back together, but you're going to have a limp for the rest of your life. We've put you on painkillers to get you through the worst of it, which is why you're not screaming right now. We think your hands were scraped by glass, and it cut them pretty badly. Your hands will work fine, but you're going to have a lot of scars." Kaz's eyes stung. Jordie and his parents had died quickly, sentenced to death by the driver of that pickup. This was a life sentence, and it was worse. His sadness disappeared, replaced by a hard knot of rage.

He tried to ask, nothing coming out. He tried harder, his throat blazing with pain. "Who?" He rasped. Dr. Linsay's brows shot up.

"Who what?"

"Truck." His voice sounded like he was gargling gravel.

"The driver of the truck that hit you?" He nodded, feeling numb with anger. He had to know. Had to make them suffer. Dr. Linsay's expression turned angry. "You know Pekka Rollins?" Kaz nodded. The multimillionaire, tried in court several times for alleged gang connections. No one had been able to convict him. "It was him." The doctors voice had turned hard. "He won't be charged, though. Somehow he got off. Could have been charged with manslaughter, drunk driving, but somehow, he got off." Pekka Rollins. Kaz would live. He would destroy Pekka Rollins, brick by brick. And despite his life sentence, he would make Rollins wish he had gone to jail.


	3. I can Help You

**Three Months Later**

Kaz limped up the steps towards the door, Dr. Linsay beside him, pulling his suitcase. "You'll be fine, Kaz, I promise." He was going to an orphanage, in a district of Amsterdam jokingly called the Barrel. The three story building in front of him might of been beige or light yellow originally, but the paint had worn away to reveal grey and black stone beneath. "I spoke with Per Haskell, he seems alright." Kaz rolled his eyes. Like you could tell if a person was trustworthy after a ten minute conversation.

"I know I'll be fine." He rasped.

She cast him a despairing look. "And Kaz, I know it's hard, but please try to be nice to the other kids here. You're nine, you can make lots of friends."

He hunched his shoulders. When was she going to understand that he didn't want friends, didn't want people close to him? Everyone he gained was just someone else to lose. He tugged on his gloves, making sure they covered the scars on his wrists. The cuts had healed, leaving dozens of scars on his knuckles and palms. They weren't painful, or even particularly ugly, but he had grown tired of the stares they attracted. Like he needed something to add to his limp and rasp.

They reached the large red door, Linsay reaching forward and ringing the bell. The door was opened by a small girl Kaz's age. She had caramel coloured skin and dark eyes. He saw her look him up and down, finally settling on his face. She watched him. He narrowed his eyes and stared back. "Come in." She said.

They walked in. "Haskell." The girl shouted. A man came down the stairs, striding over and shaking Linsay's hand. The girl disappeared up the stairs.

"This is Kaz." Linsay said, gesturing to him, once the two had greeted each other. "Kaz, this is Per Haskell." She nudged him.

"Hello." Kaz muttered.

"Pleased to meet you, Kaz. Your last name is Rietveld, correct?"

"I don't use it."

Haskell looked confused. "Then what do you use?"

"Brekker."

Haskell shrugged. "All right." He had started using his mothers maiden name so people wouldn't easily be able to identify him as the kid in the car crash. He didn't want Rollins to see him coming. "Inej will show you your room." he said, gesturing to the caramel skinned girl who had reappeared. Kaz picked up his suitcase, and started the painful task of climbing the creaky stairs. Linsay and Haskell were talking below. He put too much weight on his bad leg, and almost fell. Inej grabbed him by the collar to keep him from falling backwards.

"I can help you." She gestured to his suitcase.

"I don't need your help." He growled, pulling away. He started up the stairs again. Out of the corner of his eye, Kaz noticed that Inej had a very light tread, like she was a ghost. His leg was especially sore from walking here. He had refused to get in the car at the hospital, almost having a panic attack at the thought of being in a car again. He'd been having panic attacks a lot lately. He stumbled, almost falling again. Inej reached down and took his suitcase, starting up the stairs again. Kaz followed, finding it easier now that he could put one hand on the wall and one on the railing. "Thanks." He muttered, barely loud enough for her to hear. She turned her head and smiled at him.

"You're welcome."

She led him down a hallway with a bunch of rooms along it, to one that had the door opened. She walked inside, placing his suitcase on the small bed. Kaz couldn't help but notice she made no sound when she walked. "This is your room. Mine's right next door, to the right." He sat down on the bed, stretching his bad leg out. He expected her to leave, instead, she sat down next to him. "Are you all right?"

He turned his head and stared at her. "Is that a serious question?"

"Not your leg. I know you're not okay physically, but how about mentally?"

"What are you talking about?"

"You're sad. That's normal. Almost everyone here is sad for one reason or another. But you're also angry. And not normal angry either."

Kaz was surprised. Inej was perceptive, more perceptive than the psychologists who had tried to talk to him. They had thought his drawing back was from depression. They hadn't realized he was angry, not just sad. He thought about Rollins, how he was going to bring him down, brick by brick. He looked at Inej, meeting her eyes. He had gotten good in the last few months at lying about how he felt.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Inej met his gaze, her dark eyes like bottomless pools.

"It's okay if you don't want to talk about it." She said softly. She kept holding his gaze until Linsay called up.

"Kaz!"


	4. I'm (Not) Fine

**Thanks to Seidicorvi for reviewing! Sorry it took so long to add another chapter, I'm juggling three stories at once.**

Linsay hugged him, wrapping her arms around him. "Be good."

Kaz stepped out of the hug, trying not to panic. _It's just a hug._ "Okay."

Linsay let him go, facing him. "I'll visit."

"Okay. Bye."

She looked at him almost pityingly before turning around and leaving. Kaz felt a surge of both rage and loss. He had learned to hate pity, but Dr. Linsay was the only person who had cared what happened to him. And now she was gone. He turned slowly and began the long hike back up the stairs. He should really get a cane or something. He walked into his room, surprised to find Inej exactly where he had left her. She looked at him with dark eyes. "Do you want to talk about it?" She asked quietly.

He thought about telling her. She would probably work it out eventually. But something held him back. He had refused to talk about what had happened with anyone at the hospital. A simple reminder like someone squeezing his hand like his mother had done, getting into a car, or even just joking, laughing, brought on panic attacks. He had stayed in corners, avoiding physical contact, refusing to be pulled into conversations, afraid of the triggers that seemed to be everywhere. Even his hands were a reminder, which was part of the reason he wore the gloves. He shook his head silently. She reached out and put a hand on his arm. He flinched, and before he knew what he was doing, was across the room, backing into a corner. Inej was standing a strange look on her face. It took him a second to realize it was sympathy. He slid to the floor, his bad leg buckling underneath him. He wrapped his arms around his legs, putting his head down.

He felt more than heard Inej walking closer, stopping and kneeling in front of him. He took a few breaths, remembering Pekka Rollins. _Brick by brick._ "I'm sorry. Are you okay?" She asked him softly, concern clear in her voice.

He took another breath. He raised his head, looking her square in the eye. This would never happen again. He would never show weakness again. "I'm fine." he said coldly. But he wasn't, not really.


	5. Six Years Later

**Hey guys! Thanks to all you lovely people who reviewed. Keep em comin!**

Six Years Later

Kaz looked at his team, gathered in a circle. Nina sitting half on Matthias's lap, Jesper and Wylan sitting beside one another, Jesper restlessly tapping his fingers, and Inej, sitting cross legged beside him. They were in Kaz's room. "This had better be good, Brekker. It's two in the morning." Complained Nina. "There better be a stellar reason I'm losing my valuable sleep."

"Of course there is." Kaz rasped. "We're breaking into Haskell's office."

"Why?" Matthias grumbled. The big Russian watched Kaz.

"To get rid of adoption requests. And to mess with him a little."

"What do you mean, mess with him? What are you planning?"

"You'll see. Inej?"

Inej stood up, her dark hair out of its braid for once. _Beautiful._ He quickly shoved that thought out of his head. She stod on the table underneath the vent in the wall, the top of the table covered with pillows. She removed the vent covering and crawled in.

A few minutes later, three taps echoed through the vents. The all clear. Kaz returned the taps and cautiously left the room, doing his best to be quiet. The others followed, Jesper looking excited, Wylan, Nina and Matthias looking wary. He limped down the stairs, wincing at both his leg and how the old boards squeaked. His leg had gotten better since it had been broken, but not by very much. He reached Haskell's office. He slid picks out of his sleeve, and the lock was open in seconds. He heard Matthias mumble something about demons and witchcraft. He almost laughed. Not witchcraft, just practice and patience. Matthias had an almost phobic fear of anything that was different or strange.

They entered the dark office, Kaz going immediately for the files. Inej was already there, having slipped through the vents. His file wouldn't be there, it was currently residing under a loose board in his room. Inej had helped him steal it in his first week. He pulled out Nina, Jesper, Inej, and Matthias's files. "Kaz, what if we're caught? My father will kill me. Not figuratively. Literal death." Wylan said.

"Don't worry, merchling. We won't get caught."

He handed their files to each of them, not bothering to read them. He already knew the contents by heart. They each went through the files, pulling out the adoption requests. Kaz pulled out his own from the otherwise empty folder that served as his. He looked at them briefly. A couple in Amsterdam. Another family outside. Kaz remembered his own family, with their farm outside the city. Back roads. Cars. He turned an unceremoniously tore them into strips, throwing them into the recycling bin.

"You care about the environment, but you don't care about that fact we're somewhere we're not supposed to be, after lights out, committing a crime?" Jesper asked.

"Nope."

They all got rid of their adoption requests, and Kaz pulled out the drawer of Haskell's desk. "What are you doing?" Inej asked curiously.

Kaz turned the drawer upside down, dumping it out and slotting it back in to the desk. He slowly began to pack things back in, upside down, pushing it in a little at a time. "Do the others." He said. They spread out, doing all the drawers in the room. Kaz slid the last item back into the desk. he wished he could be here to see all of Haskell's belongings fall out when he opened it. The look on his face would be priceless. He took the time to liberate a deck of cards Haskell had taken from him the week before. He looked longingly at all the other things Haskell had taken from him over the years, but knew Haskell would know exactly who to blame if all of Kaz's stuff went missing. "Let's go."

Inej dove back through the vents, crawling soundlessly, and Kaz and the others went back to Kaz's room. "I'm going to bed." Nina grumbled. Matthias followed. Kaz went over to the window in his room, a flower box beneath it, where crows regularly perched. Inej fed them. He opened it, startling a roosting crow, that flew into the nearby tree with an irritated squawk. Jesper squeezed Wylan's hand, turning the boy bight red, and left for his room. Wylan crawled out of the window, onto a nearby branch from the maple tree the grew under his window. Kaz watched the boy scoot down, reach the ground, and dash in the direction of the Van Eck mansion. Then it was just him and Inej. He went to his desk, sorting through some papers he had left there, homework for high school. He felt Inej go and sit on his bed.

After a while, he asked "What is it, Wraith?" He turned to see her lying on his bed, fast asleep, He snorted, then scowled. There was no way he was going to carry her out of here. He strode over to wake her up. He paused, about to kick the bed frame. Something about the way she was sleeping, curled up with her hair spread over the pillow. Not knowing what he was doing, he grabbed a blanket and walked over to his armchair, lying down. He fell asleep watching Inej.

He woke later with the sound of screaming metal in his ears. Early morning sunlight was streaming in through the window. He laid there for awhile, until his alarm went off, signalling the fact that he had to get ready for school. As he reached over and turned it off, he saw Inej stir, She sat up, looking confused. "You fell asleep." He said. He didn't offer an explanation of why he hadn't woken her up, and she thankfully didn't ask for one. She just stood up and left.

He got up, his leg radiating pain. Sleeping in a chair hadn't done it any favours. He stumbled, almost falling, catching himself on his desk. "Are you okay?" Inej asked, poking her head back in the door.

"Fine." He growled, righting himself. Her head disappeared. He shut the door, locked it, and limped over to the loose board. He did this every day, to remind himself why Rollins had to pay. He pulled out his file, sitting on the bed before reading it. The first time he had seen this, he had almost passed out, spending almost an hour in his room having a panic attack. It still hurt, seeing the pictures. The first page was just information on him. The other pages were his history. There were newspaper clippings from the accident, showing pictures of the car. Another news clipping from a few days later, Rollins not charged in death of family. That one just made him angry. Doctors notes, psychiatrist notes, and his family. Pictures from from before the accident, information, and causes of death. _Crushed skulls. Internal bleeding. Fatal damage to nervous system. DOA._ Three letters he had come to hate. He hunched over, trying to breathe. Rollins had to pay. Kaz would destroy him, brick by brick. Finally, a psychological assessment paper from four months after the had died. _Kaz is having trouble readjusting. Cannot seem to carry on normal conversations or socialize with others. Is affected by panic attacks often. Light antidepressants recommended._ They had tried giving him those pills for five months. After the first time, when he had become so disconnected from what was happening around him that he had sat in the same spot for a half hour, he had spat the pills out in the toilet.

He sat for a moment, then stood, unlocking his door and walking down the hall like he owned the place. _Brick by brick, Rollins. I'm coming for you._


	6. Survivors

**And now we get into why this is rated teen, if we weren't there already. Sorry bout this, guys. But it's important to the plot line. Disclaimer- I own nothing. Wish I did, but no.**

As usual, school passed in a bored blur. No one was stupid enough to give him a hard time, not after what he had down to a kid on his third day, who had been making fun of his limp. Seeing someones arm being being dislocated and popped back in really drained the fight out of people. Inej, Jesper, Nina, Kaz, and Matthias all went to the same high school. Wylan went to some fancy private school across the city.

Math, history, geography, science, He got straight As in all of them, simply because he could read a textbook page and recite it word for word a week later. Sometimes it was nice having a photographic memory. The bell rang, and he walked through the crowds, people uncharacteristically making room for him. They were afraid. Good. He heard someone mutter something that sounded like bastard of the Barrel. A common nickname. He exited the school, Inej joining him silently, Nina, Matthias, and Jesper close behind.

"Everyone had a good day?" Matthias asked. Honestly, the man was like their surrogate mother.

"It was okay." Inej responded quietly.

"Fine." Nina said.

"Alright." Jesper said nonchalantly. "Just forgot the elements on the periodic table I'm supposed to be memorizing."

"Aurum, argentum, thorium, einsteinium." Kaz responded, remembering the list the teacher had written on the board. "Mercury, barium."

All of them turned and stared at him. "Okayyy..." Nina said. "Weird."

"How did you do that?" Jesper asked.

"Good memory."

"It's creepy."

"Deal with it."

"Why do you do it?"

Kaz frowned. "Can't help it."

Jesper just looked at him. He didn't understand, didn't get how his brain seemed to take pictures of everything he saw, and there was no delete button. None of them understood it. Jesper, Nina, and Matthias stepped on to the bus that would take them across the street from the Slat. Kaz turned away before they noticed, heading down the street. He would walk. Inej ran up, and fell into step beside him. "Why don't you ever take the bus?" He turned his head and stared at her. She pursed her lips. "Why do you do this to yourself? You're going to hurt yourself, and no one's going to be around."

"You're around."

"Yes, today. Lack of company hasn't stopped you for the last six years."

"What are you going to do? Try and stop me?" His stomach flipped at the prospect of being forced into a vehicle.

"No. I'm going to walk with you." Her voice was firm, her eyes determined. She wasn't backing off.

"Fine. Go ahead." She'd last a few days, maybe weeks. The walk from the high school to the orphanage wasn't something you did by choice. He thought of the contents of her file at the orphanage. Inej had been taken from her family by human traffickers when she was seven. Her parents had been killed. Authorities had rescued her after a year and a half of forced prostitution, and she had ended up in Haskell's orphanage, only a month or two before him. Kaz refused to think of who would do that to a small child.

They walked in silence, Kaz internally wincing every time his bad leg touched the ground. Maybe he should start taking those painkillers he usually spat out. Inej seemed to read his mind. "You haven't been taking those pills, have you?" It wasn't really a question.

"Why do you care?"

Inej shook her head, making a soft sound of disgust. "Is the idea that someone cares about someone else completely out of goodwill that foreign to you? I care because you're obviously hurting, and you could help yourself. Why not?"

The truth was, his reputation depended on him being tough. If word got out that he was taking meds for his leg, then he wouldn't appear tough anymore, would he? But instead of that, he just said "It's not that bad. I don't need them." Inej sighed, shaking her head again.

"Fine. Kill yourself."

()()()()()()

He stood in the corner of the room, watching Roeder, Jesper and Pim playing cards. The rec room was full of kids, ranging from six to nineteen. Wylan, Nina, and Matthias were watching a movie on the TV. Kaz shifted, wincing. His leg was radiating pain. Inej walked over and stood beside him, against the wall. She surreptitiously held out her hand. She was holding a small bottle of children's Advil. He sighed. _Screw it._ He took the bottle, unscrewed the cap, and popped three into his mouth, chewing them fast before swallowing. He supposed they had been meant to be grape flavoured, but they tasted more like chemicals. He tucked the bottle into his pocket. "Thanks." He muttered. Wylan, Nina, and Matthias were now arguing over what movie to watch.

"Kaz." Nina called. "Titanic or Guardians of the Galaxy?"

"Is that a serious question?"

Inej laughed. "He wants Titanic, of course." He scowled at her. She beamed back, and after a second, he smiled too.

()()()()()()

They ran, Geels and his boys not far behind. Kaz's leg was on fire, but he didn't dare slow. The trouble had started at school, when Geels and Matthias had gotten into a fist fight. And Geels had taken it personally. Usually, people would be too scared to even think about crossing Kaz or any of his group, but Geels was drunk, and he had almost the entire football team behind him, except for Matthias. Wylan had met up with them at school, and then Geels had ambushed them. "Over here." Kaz hissed. Nina, Matthias, Wylan, and Jesper followed. Inej was somewhere above. They dashed into an alley, taking turns at random, finally ending up in the space behind an old apartment building. It was choked with rubbish. Kaz dived behind a dumpster, Ineh dropping down beside him. Wylan crawled into a cardboard box, closing the flap over him. Nina quickly jumped into the dumpster, propping the lid open with a garbage bag. Jesper took shelter behind a small wall. Matthias crouched behind a few garbage cans. They waited with bated breath. Geels ran past, his group following. Kaz breathed a sigh of relief. Until two man strode out of the apartment building, arguing.

"We don't have much time."

"I know we don't." Snapped the other man. Kaz stiffened. He thought he recognized that voice. But there was no way...

"We need the boy to get over what we did to his father and start reproducing the process. We need the drugs, Rollins."

Rollins. Pekka goddamn Rollins. "We wouldn't need the boy at all if Halsey hadn't shot Bo Yul-Bayur,"

"That was an accident."

"It doesn't matter." Rollins leaned in close. "We need the drugs. There is thirty million buck riding on this deal, Aerts."

What exactly had they walked in on? Kaz looked at Inej. She stared back at him, scared. Kaz could barely focus. Pekka Rollins was less than twenty feet away. He had killed his family. And then a crackle came from where Matthias was hiding. The two men were on him in an instant, hauling Matthias from his hiding place. "Who the hell are you? What are you doing here?" Rollins snarled.

"He;s heard too much." Aerts growled. Rollins glanced at him, then pulled something from his waistband. A gun, equipped with a silencer. Matthias's eyes widened. The shot was more of a muffled pop. Kaz heard Inej start to scream, and grabbed her, covering her mouth. She sat against his chest, her breathing fast, like a frightened small animal. Kaz's vision was blurring at the edges. _No. Not again, please. Please._ Rollins stared at Matthias's body.

"Shit. Let's get out of here before someone comes looking for this kid." The two men ran into the apartment, and Kaz could hear a car starting, before pealing away, tires squealing, Nina broke the silence, crashing out of the dumpster, sobbing. She knelt by Matthias.

"What...what the _fuck_..."

Jesper and Wylan followed. "Oh. Oh my god..."

Kaz was still holding Inej. He slowly took his hand away from her mouth, refusing to believe this was happening. He stumbled upwards, almost falling. "No. No." Inej whispered.

It was like dam had broke. "What do we do?"

"Pekka Rollins, the rich guy?"

"Matthias. No, no, no."

"Oh my god."

"Why...why would they do this? What were they talking about?"

Kaz forced himself to think. "We have to get away from here."

Nina looked up, tears streaming down her cheeks. Inej spoke. "Why? We need to tell the authorities-"

"You really think they'd believe that Pekka Rollins shot a teenager in an alley? And these guys shot a kid to protect this secret. We go to the authorities, we'll be next." His hands were shaking. He couldn't help it. "We need to go back to the orphanage, and act totally surprised when we get the news."

Inej pursed her lips and nodded. Nia and Wylan just looked at him blankly. Jesper gave a quick head jerk. And then they were running, through the streets, up the steps, banging through the door of the orphanage, into Kaz's room. Nina curled up and began to cry again. Wylan and Jesper sat on his bed, Jesper's arms around Wylan. Inej sat, head bowed, under the window. Kaz stumbled into the washroom, locking the door. Once he was alone, he gave in to the emotions threatening to overwhelm him. He curled into a ball, hyperventilating, and eventually fell asleep. Someone knocked softly on the bathroom door, and he jerked awake, smacking his head on the wall. "Kaz." Came Inej's quiet, tear filled voice. "Kaz, are you okay?"

 _No. I'm not okay. In fact, I think I may be be going insane. You?_

"Kaz, what happened? What did we overhear? It sounded like they had killed someone before, and what was all that stuff about drugs?"

 _I'm not sure. I know as much about this as you. Why is the room spinning?_

"Kaz, please let me in."

 _I want to, but I think I would lose my mind right now if you came anywhere near me. Please make this stop hurting._

He heard her sit against the wall, sobbing softly. "Kaz."

 _What could I do? I can't help you, not in any way that counts. Oh god. Matthias is dead._

She said his name again, pleading. He whimpered, hugging himself. He couldn't do this. After a while, it became quiet. He stood, unlocking the door and pulling it open. She was in front of the door, wrapped in a blanket. Nina, Jesper, and Wylan were gone. He knelt down, and put his arms under her, lifting her slight weight. She unconsciously moved closer to him, snuggling against his chest. He felt sick and weak. He gently placed her on the bed, tucking the blankets up to her chin. He stood up, intending to sleep on his armchair again, and Inej sleepily grasped his arm. "Don't go." She murmured, still asleep.

He took a shuddering breath and sat against the headboard, net to her, above the covers. Her hand was still a light presence on his wrist, He fell asleep shivering.

 **Inej**

She woke up wrapped in blankets, holding on to Kaz's wrist. Kaz was sitting next to her, sleeping in what couldn't be a comfortable position. _Why do I feel so empty?_ And then she remembered. Matthias. Poor, brave Matthias. She let go of Kaz's wrist, and looked back, confused. She lifted his sleeve a little to get a better look at what she had seen. His wrist was covered in thin white scars. She wondered how much more extensive they were. Was his _hand_ like this? What had happened?

He groaned, sitting up. Then seemed to realize where he was. He was up and off the bed like greased lightning, his chest heaving. She watched him patiently. He walked towards his desk and then walked back, running a gloved hand through his hair. "Sorry." He finally muttered.

She just watched him. She couldn't help him until he admitted there was a problem and told her what it was. She remembered the first she had seen him like this, the very first time she had met him. They had both been small children. He hadn't been cold then, just angry and terrified. And then he had changed. "Kaz?"

He looked at her blankly, still pacing.

"What are we going to do?"

He abruptly stopped walking, and strode out the door. Inej followed. He rapped Ninha and Jesper's doors, then headed back. Jesper and Wylan came out of Jesper's room, Nina out of hers. They met back in Kaz's room."What do we do?" Inej repeated.

"We go after him."

Inej blinked. "What?" The others looked similarly confused. "Kaz, what are you saying? We're just a couple of kids. And you said it yourself, we go to the authorities, Rollins and his men will end our lives."

Kaz's eyes gleamed. "Not if we collect irrefutable evidence that Rollins is doing something illegal, and we get him and all his goons thrown in jail."

Nina spoke. "Kaz. They've dealt with professional spies, trained, experienced people. How do we stand a chance?"

"This isn't a job for spies and professionals. It's a job for us."

"A couple of teenagers."

"We're survivors. A gymnast. A thief. A sharpshooter. A scientist. A linguist and amateur medic. Not just a couple of teenagers."

"I'm in." Inej said. Matthias needed some kind of justice.

"For Matthias." Nina declared.

Wylan nodded. "Me too."

"Let's do this thing!" Jesper yelled.

Inej looked around at the people sitting on Kaz's floor. _Survivors. We can do this. We will do this._


	7. Scars and Laughter

**Hi! I really believe that laughter is necessary in a crisis, so don't think I'm an unfeeling jerk for writing this chapter.**

The others went back to their rooms, Wylan climbing out the window. Except for Inej. She sat back down on the bed, watching him. "What is it, Wraith?"

"Those scars are your wrist. What are they from?"

Kaz froze. He couldn't move, couldn't form a rational thought. He dimly registered Inej saying his name. Memories, Jordie. His parents. Waking up in the dark and realizing they were gone. Inej was in front of him. "Kaz. I'm sorry, it's okay. I'll leave it."

He forced himself to take a breathy, and turned away, walking to his desk. "How did you see?"

"Your sleeve was pushed up a little when I let go."He sat down. He took another deep breath, and pulled off his glove. Little white lines, crisscrossing his fingers, his hand, his palm. He formed a fist, the scars not hampering his movement at all. Inej slowly walked closer. Her eyes were wide. She cautiously reached out and brushed her thumb along the top of his hand. "Does it hurt?"

"No."

She ever so slowly cupped his hand in hers. "Is your other hand like this?"

"Yes." One word sentences were all he was capable of right now. What the hell was he doing?

She turned his hand over, fingers brushing along his scars. "It's a miracle that whatever did this didn't hit your arteries." He nodded. Linsay had told him that about a million times. "Why do you hide this?"

He looked away from her searching gaze. _Because it hurts to remember._ "I don't like pity."

Shye looked down, examining their hands. A memory hit him. His mother, taking his hand. Before. He pulled away, backing up. His breathing was rough, uneven. "I'm sorry." Inej said quietly.

He tried to control his breathing "What?"

"I don't know what's wrong, and I don't know how to help."

"No one can help me."

"I know you don't want anyone near you-"

"I'm glad you're here." He blurted, and mentally slapped himself.

Now it was her turn to look confused. "What?" Kaz just shook his head, trying to shut the little voice up that kept saying _Tell her. tell her everything. You can trust her._ He pulled his glove back on. Inej let out a small breath. "Goodnight, Kaz."

He frowned. "What time is it?"

"Probably around midnight." He blinked. Earlier than he'd thought. She stopped in the doorway. "Kaz?"

"Yes?"

"I know you don't like accepting help, but...I'm always here. If you ever need me. Okay?" He nodded, not trusting himself to speak.

He climbed into bed, thinking of Matthias, Rollins, and Inej.

()()()()()()

Anika knocked on his door. It was clear she had been crying. "Haskell wants to see you in his office." She blurted before running away. They met in the hallway. Kaz looked at all of them.

"We have to make this convincing. Do you understand?" They all nodded.

The group trooped down the stairs, and Kaz knocked on Haskell's office door. "Come in." They entered. Haskell was sitting behind his desk, face grave. "Sit down, all of you." They sat.

"What is it, Sir?" Kaz asked pleasantly.

Haskell let out a long slow breath. "When was the last time you all saw Matthias?"

Kaz did he best to look like he was thinking. "Last night, just after school." He had to tell a partial truth here. If he lied, all it would take to catch it would be a two minute conversation with Geels. "We were being chased by some idiots from school, which was why we didn't take the bus. We went home, but he stayed. Said he had something to take care of."

"Did he say what?"

"No, he didn't. Why, what's happened? Didn't he come home last night?'

Haskell bit his lip. "Mathias was found in an alley last night. he-he was murdered."

Kaz conjured up an expression of shock and surprise. Nina started sobbing. "How?" Jesper asked, sounding completely stunned. Kaz applauded their acting skills.

"He was shot in the head at close range. Probably a gun with a silencer, no one heard anything."

"Why...why would someone do such a thing?" Inej said.

Haskell looked at them closely. "We don't know. Could those kids from school have something to do with it?"

Not good. "No. Absolutely not. They're assholes, but they were nowhere near drunk enough to be murderers."

Haskell nodded. "Good. Watch your language." He went to open his drawer. _Ooohh. Oh shit._ He opened it, and the entire contents exploded on to the floor. Haskell stared at the upside down drawer with an almost comically stunned expression. Kaz squeezed his lips shut, trying to contain his laughter. Inej had her hands over her mouth, silently shaking. Tears were still pouring down Nina's cheeks, but she was fighting a smile. Jesper was taking shaky breaths, and the corners of his mouth kept twitching up. Haskell slowly opened another drawer, with similar results. Haskell stood, going around to every drawer in the room, watching the contents dump with the same _this is not happening_ expression.

"Sir?" Kaz said, his voice about an octave higher than normal. "Can we go?" Haskell waved at them the way one might swat at an irritating fly, still staring at the mess, and Kaz walked stiffly out of the room, making it to his room before he collapsed on his bed, laughing. He knew he should be feeling absolutely miserable, one of the few people he privately considered friends had just been shot. But he could not stop. The other came in, Jesper nearly bent in half, choking on his laughter.

"His-his face..."

Nina started rolling on the floor. "Shouldn't...shouldn't be laughing. But she didn't stop.

Jesper looked at Kaz. "Kaz...you're laughing. Nina, Inej, Kaz is laughing. Oh, if Matthias could see this." Kaz threw a pillow at him, unable to stop laughing for more than a few seconds.

Eventually, the laughter died down. "We have to go to school." Inej said. They dispersed to their rooms, everyone getting ready.


	8. Math Class

**So. Figured out a system. After the End first, because I have that all planned out. Then this, then Lila and the Crow. Please review!**

 **Inej**

She got ready for school, thinking about what Kaz had said. _I'm glad you're here._ He had said it by accident, she was positive. The look of confusion and almost fear on his face after had proved it. She thought of his hand, the way the scars made pale lines on already pale skin. They had been close to holding hands. Until Kaz had pulled away, looking terrified. What had happened to him?

She slid down the bannister of the Slat, meeting the others outside the door. They all exchanged dark looks. This day was not going to be fun. Jesper and Nina got on the bus. Kaz turned away, started walking down the street. Inej followed, catching up. He looked mildly surprised to see her there."Still not giving up?"

"No. I don't give up." _I won't give up on trying to help you._ Even though her calves hurt from walking with him yesterday. She wondered how he had managed for six years with a bad leg. Why would he do this?

"Why would you do this when you could just take the bus?" Kaz asked.

She frowned. "Are you saying you can't?"

She knew instantly that she'd made a mistake. Kaz's shoulders hunched, his expression closed off. "I didn't say that." He said flatly. They kept walking, Kaz refusing to look at or talk to her.

"Kaz." He didn't even glance in her direction. "Kaz, come on." Didn't even blink. Just kept walking. "Kaz, will you please just tell me what I did?" She snapped. "I can help." She said in a softer tone.

"You can help by leaving it be." Kaz snapped back.

"I do leave you be. And you only get worse." She realized she was yelling. "Everyone leaves you alone. And you get colder, more distant. It's not helping."

"I know it's not." He yelled back. "But having people close to me would be worse!"

Inej stopped, trying to sort through that. "What do you mean?" Kaz shook his head and walked faster. She easily kept pace. "Kaz-"

"No."

"What?"

"Just shut up and leave me alone."

"You did not just say that."

"You're damn right I did."

Inej felt like she was going to cry, but she refused to. Not in front of him. She attempted to order her thoughts. She looked at Kaz's face, at how he was trying to look like he didn't care. But she could see he was scared. "You're afraid of showing weakness. I don't know why, but I understand. Do you trust me?" He glanced at her warily. "I promise that I will never tell anyone. Okay? Do you trust me?"

"Yes." He whispered. "I trust you."

She cautiously brushed her fingers against his gloved hand. He breathed deeply, and took it. _Why am I doing this?_ Because she knew that he needed help? Or because against all common sense, she had begun to feel something for him? _Let him go. Leave him alone._ And he would steadily get worse, as he had been doing for the past six years. Every day since she had first met him, he had gotten a little colder, a little harder to reach. "This doesn't mean anything." He said quietly.

"Of course not." Oh, how she wished that were true. Inej closed her eyes, and immediately opened them. What had happened to Matthias was haunting her every time her eyes closed. Kaz abruptly let go, and she saw him shaking slightly. They walked to school, in silence.

 **Kaz**

Holding hands. Didn't mean anything. Right? He sat in math class, paying absolutely no attention to the teacher. He didn't know what had happened. _It doesn't mean anything. It can't mean anything. Please don't let it mean anything._ he had lost the battle to the little voice that said trust her. He had let his guard down. He had to put it back up. He wasn't capable of having a relationship, wasn't capable of giving her what she deserved. He clung to her words. _Of course not._ Had she meant it? He looked to where she was seated near the front of the room, head bowed, scribbling in her notebook. He sighed.

With no little effort, he turned his mind to puzzling out what Rollins and Aerts had been talking about. A drug deal. And they were forcing someone to reproduce their fathers work. His father was Bo Yul-Bayur. So how to collect evidence? He became aware of someone calling his name. "Kaz. Mr. Brekker, would you do us the honour of gracing us with your presence?" Kaz looked up. Mrs. Tenesen, the math teacher from hell, as students called her, was looming over his desk. "Maybe you should give the problem on the board a try." Everyone was staring. When he met their eyes, they glanced away. He looked at the question disinterestedly.

"X equals 4. And there's a much easier way to do it than you've been showing us."

Mrs. Tenesen's face turned a peculiar shade of pinkish red. "Oh? Do show."

Kaz sighed and limped to the front of the class, picking up a piece of chalk. He quickly jotted down his way, and a wave of muttering spread through the classroom, along with a good deal of comments aimed towards the teacher.

"Burn!" Someone shouted.

He turned and offered the chalk to Mrs. Tenesen with a small bow. Her face was now bright red, and she was huffing and puffing. "May I sit, madam?" He said, sarcasm dripping off every syllable.

"Go." She hissed.

Kaz limped back to his desk, internally wincing at the pain in his leg. He subversively took out the bottle of children's Advil and took two. He looked around the classroom. The news of Matthias's murder hadn't been publicly announced, and the scene earlier had looked the same as it did every day, kids falling asleep over books, dreaming about the weekend.

Now, kids were laughing quietly and whispering as Mrs. Tenesen attempted to restore order. The rest of the day passed in a haze. Eventually, he found himself walking back to the Slat, Inej at his side. "Why do you insist on making a fool of everyone in authority?"

"Because they usually are fools."

Inej sighed. "What are you planning?"

"We start tonight. We should poke around that apartment building we saw them in." Inej nodded.

They reached home, climbing the stairs, and going to their separate rooms.

 **Kind of based this off of what my class can be like. :)**


	9. Jackpot

**So. I'm a terrible person.**

 **I've been trying to focus on After The End and I totally forgot about this! I am still working on it, just don't expect updates to be too often. I promise I will finish. Eventually. Bear with me.**

Inej

They crept through the alley, ducking under police tape. Jesper was holding a video camera in case they needed to record something. Inej shivered as she passed the spot where Rollins had shot Matthias.

They entered through the door, into a dingy room. Dim light from the streetlights filtered inside. Kaz reached into his black backpack and pulled out a flashlight. Nina, Jesper, Wylan, and Inej followed.

They were all wearing black, black coats, dark jeans, and sneakers. The casual clothes looked odd on Kaz, she was so used to seeing him in dressier clothes. He looked like some harbinger of death, with his hat pulled low over his eyes, black trench coat going down to his knees, and his hands gloved. He also looked hot. Inej couldn't help noticing that cold as Kaz was, he was kind of attractive. He was a favourite with the snobby girls at their high school.

Inej shined her light at the walls. Paint and plaster was peeling off, revealing the brick beneath. The floor was filthy, covered in decades worth of dust and dirt. There was an old couch shoved against the wall, and it looked like a family of small animals had taken up residence. In short, the place looked like somewhere a group of criminals would live. "Split up." Kaz rasped. "Nina, Jesper, Wylan, take the upper floor. Inej, you and me down here."

The others left, and Kaz walked off into the dark without looking at her. Inej walked into the next room. A desk was pushed against the wall. She cautiously opened the drawers, finding nothing but a small mouse that scampered away from her light, through a hole in the back of the drawer.

She quickly panned the walls with her light, finding nothing. Inej was about to go into the next room when there was a large bang. Kaz howled a swear word. She ran back, to find Kaz on the floor, groaning and cursing in between breaths. "Kaz? What happened, are you okay?" Inej asked frantically.

"I tripped." Kaz gritted out.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." He muttered. Nina, Wylan and Jesper came downstairs.

"What is it?"

Kaz didn't answer. He slowly reached down and picked something up from near his leg. A small black book. He flipped it open, and Inej saw pages, lists of names and what looked like phone numbers. "Jackpot." Kaz rasped.

"Where'd that come from?" Jesper asked.

"It was on the floor. I frickin stepped on it." Kaz said, getting to his feet. He hissed in a breath as his bad leg touched the ground.

Jesper looked concerned. "Are you all right?"

"Fine." Kaz snapped. He flipped through the small book again, Nina holding a flashlight on it. "Someone must have dropped this on their way out. Rollins screwed up. Big time."

"Look at this. Eroll Aerts. The guy's a known criminal. This would make awesome evidence." Nina said.

"Except we can't prove it's Rollins." Wylan said. "One could argue that it could be anyones. Unless his name is in it?"

Kaz went to the front and the back cover. "Nope. We're not that lucky."

"It's a start." Inej encouraged. "We can use this to find more of their hiding spots." They all looked slightly cheered.

"So." Nina said. "Can we get out of here?"


End file.
